Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived here on Wednesday morning and chose to be driven through a tense Srinagar amid heightened security and strict curfew nearly all over the Kashmir Valley.
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Mr Modi appreciated the constructive suggestions made in the meeting and reiterated his Government’s commitment to the welfare of citizens of the state.
Former diplomat N.N. Jha on Wednesday said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the valley will make Kashmiris realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seriousness about dealing with the ongoing unrest.
Senior Congree leader P Chidambaram Tuesday said all party delegation should be sent to J&K. “We will get ample time to play political games later”, he said. “This rigidity against including separatists has antagonised sections in Kashmir”, he said.
Sources informed that some members during the course of the interaction flagged the issue of prime minister not mentioning Kashmir during his Independence Day speech.
Opposition delegates led by former puppet chief minister Omar Abdullah singled out security forces’ firing of shotguns to disperse the protesters.
Appealing for restoration of normalcy, the PM said there has to be a dialogue and we need to find a permanent solution to the problem within the framework of Constitution.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the stand of the central government over unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the issue can not be dealt with by the courts.
This is the Home Minister’s second visit in a month to the valley, which has been witnessing unrest since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.
“By the look of it. he seemed serious about it”, said Yusuf Tarigami, lone CPI (M) legislator from the state, who represents the Kulgam constituency and was part of the delegation.
“We had been waiting for quite some time now. After I took over, they tried to start trouble on the pretext of Handwara (alleged rape) incident which they failed to do”. He expressed concern over loss of life and injuries to thousands and demanded immediate end to the use of pellet guns in the Valley. “The problem is that we tend to believe that we have learnt from our past mistakes and then, more or less, become complacent”. Among them is a youth who was killed in fresh clashes in Pulwama today.
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“Why should 95 per cent people of Kashmir suffer for the misdeeds of five per cent”, she said.
